A story today by the Associated Press tells of a study by Northeastern University that black teenagers are killing each other in rising numbers, despite an overall falling crime rate across the nation.

FBI crime statistics show overall decreases in murder and other violent crimes. The a report by criminal justice professors James Alan Fox and Marc Swatt uncovers other disturbing trends within that data. (Related: Updated FBI crime statistic)

Among their findings: an increase of more than 39 percent in the number of black males between the ages of 14 and 17 killed between 2000 and 2007, and an increase of 34…

The St. Louis School District’s special administrative board says it is looking for the “best urban superintendent we can find” to replace Diana Bourisaw. She’s the current superintendent of the city school district, but as of last week, she’s effectively out.

The administrative board said it’ll start a hunt for a new superintendent and that Bourisaw was welcome to apply. Bourisaw said no thanks and will leave at the end of the school year.

Oh, and let’s remember: Bourisaw was the sixth superintendent of the district since 2003.

So, why don’t we take a crack at writing the classified ad that would attract…

I don’t know about you, but I hear about it all the time. Friends at my church complain about how Little League baseball or their kids’ soccer and basketball teams are playing on a Sunday morning.

They often have to skip services, or leave early, in order to make sure their kids get to the games, or practices, or tournaments. I’m sure it’s not just a problem for Christian families, who traditionally deal with conflicts on Sunday mornings. There must be similar conflicts on other holy days or sabbath days.

This topic comes to mind because of a story for Thursday’s Post-Dispatch….

The announcement today from the San Francisco-based Knowledge is Power Program makes Washington University the sponsor a cluster of five tuition-free, hard-work public schools, aimed at serving roughly 1,500 St. Louis students over the next 10 years. The first, a middle school, would open in the fall of 2009

According to our story, by education writer David Hunn:

The program, known as KIPP, is the most well-respected charter school network in the country. Now, Washington University is the most prestigious university to sponsor a U.S. charter school. Experts say, together, the two will not only alter local education, but provide a model for…

University researchers say the answer is yes.

Our story for Tuesday’s Post-Dispatch outlines the work of researchers at the University of Illinois (my alma mater!), University of Virginia and Michigan State University (boo!). The results of their work, according to the U of I news release:

The research team began with the prediction that mildly happy people (those who classify themselves as eights and nines on the 10-point life satisfaction scale) may be more successful in some realms than those who consider themselves 10s. This prediction was based on the idea that profoundly happy people may be less inclined to alter their…